The Mystery of the Missing Valentines
by Pre-Animation Man
Summary: An elf becomes grouchy when he receives no valentines. Belen is My Own OC.


On Valentine's Day, Elf Pippi Tommy Annika hurried home from work. "I wonder how many valentines I'll get," he said to himself. But when he looked in his mailbox, it was empty.

"That is strange," he muttered. "Maybe the mail person didn't come today. I'll probably get my valentines tomorrow."

The next day was Saturday. All morning, Pippi listened for the mail person. At eleven o'clock, he heard the click of his mailbox lid.

With a big smile, he opened the door and looked into his mailbox. There was a letter from his sister Kate and a gas bill. But there were no valentines.

"That's strange," he muttered. Then he began to wonder why his friends had not sent him any valentines. Every year they sent him valentines.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Hi!" said Anna, as Pippi opened the door. "Thanks for the valentine, Pippi. It came yesterday."

"Hi!" Pippi said in his most unfriendly voice.

"Would you like to go with me for a hamburger? " Anna asked.

"Nope," Pippi answered.

"Say, you are really grouchy today," his friend told him. "What's the matter?"

Pippi didn't answer.

"Ah, come on, Pippi. What's bugging you?"

"I sent valentines to ten friends," Pippi told him. "But nobody sent one to me."

Anna couldn't believe it. "Well, you got one from me, didn't you?" he asked.

Pippi scowled. "Of course, I didn't,"hesnapped.

"Well, don't be so grouchy," Anna said. "I sent you one, and I know Willie sent you one."

When Anna left, he called Willie. "Pippi is really grouchy because he didn't get any valentines" Anna told him. The two elves decided to call Pippi's other friends. Almost everyone they called had sent a valentine to Pippi.

"Say, Anna, that's eleven elves who sent a valentine to Pippi. What could have happened to all those valentines?" Willie asked.

The two friends went to see Pippi, who was still grouchy. They told him that eleven valentines had been mailed to him.

"I think we should call the cops," Willie said.

"Oh, that won't do any good," Pippi told him.

The police won't look for missing valentines."

"Then let's hire a detective," Willie answered. "That's a good idea," Anna declared. "And I know a good one — Inspector Belen. She'll find out what happened to those valentines." Pippi's friends were so excited that Anna ran out to find Inspector Belen. In just one hour, Pippi's phone rang.

"Hello," said Pippi grouchily.

"This is Inspector Belen. I'd like to ask some questions. How many valentines are missing?" "All of them," Pippi replied.

"Well, yes," said the Inspector. "But how many?" "I don't know," Pippi said, "maybe eleven."

"I see," the Inspector replied.

Then Inspector Belen called the Postmaster. He called his people together. "We must find eleven valentines which were mailed to Pippi Tommy Annika" he told them.

The mail people looked in the mail sacks. They looked in the mail sorting bins. They looked in drawers and behind cabinets. They even looked in wastebaskets. Finally, the Postmaster called Inspector Belen.

'Those valentines are not here," he told her.

The Inspector had another plan. She went with The Inspector had another plan. She went with the mail person to all the mail boxes on street corners. She looked into each box to see if a valentine had been left there. But she found no valentines.

Next, Inspector Belen talked with the mail person who delivered Pippi s mail.

"Oh, I delivered lots of mail to Pippi Tommy Annika on Valentine's Day. Now, I'm not sure how many valentines there were, though."

"Try to remember how many envelopes you put in his mailbox," the Inspector said.

"Well, let me think. . . . There must have been nine or ten — maybe more. I know there were so many envelopes, the mailbox would not close."

Inspector Belen went to see Pippi. He looked more grouchy than ever.

"I found out that nine or ten valentines were put in your mailbox — maybe more"she told him.

"There were no valentines in my mailbox," Pippi insisted. "The box was empty."

"Are you sure you did not take them out and forget about them?" she asked.

Pippi frowned. "Of course not. I tell you there were NO valentines in that mailbox!"

"Well, they were there," she said. "Now we have to find out who took them out." And the Inspector left.

Pippi was more unhappy than ever. "Who would take my valentines?" he wondered.

"And why?"

That night, Pippi could not get to sleep. He turned on one side, then on the other. He lay on his back, then on his tummy. He even curled up. But he could not go to sleep.

So he went to the kitchen for some milk and crackers. He took one sip of milk. Then he heard a soft tap, tap-tap.

"Now what can that be?" he wondered. Again he heard it: tap-tap, tap-tap-tap. It seemed to be coming from inside the kitchen wall, right behind the stove.

Pippi moved the stove. Then he saw a hole in the wall. He got down on his knees and looked in. He could hardly believe what he saw. There was a handsome big with a hammer.

"What do you think you are doing?" Pippi asked.

"Hi!" the big replied. "I'm building a house. I'm getting married on Saturday. I need a new house for my bride. And my house is almost finished." The big looked very pleased as he looked around at his new walls.

Pippi didn't know what to say. Then he noticed that the big was holding a red heart- shaped paper. And Pippi began to get angry.

"Say, while you are here, tell me how you like the wallpaper," the big said.

One wall was completely covered with a big red heart. Across the top were the words: To My Valentine. Pippi knew now where his valentines were. He was so angry his ears twitched.

"Don't you like my wallpaper?" the big asked.

"That's not wallpaper!" Pippi yelled. "You took my valentines! And you put them on your walls. And in my own house, too!"

"Valentines? What are valentines?" the big asked.

"Oh, never mind," Pippi replied. "Just where did you get that wallpaperl "

"Oh, I was very lucky," the big told him. "I was passing by your front porch one day. A man dumped a lot of paper in a box beside the door. Some of it fell out. I thought I might be able to use it and brought it in here." The big looked around his room and smiled.

"It was this lovely wallpaper. So I went back and pushed all the papers out of the box. Doesn't it look lovely? And here are some more." The big pointed to a pile of envelopes in a corner.

Pippi grabbed the envelopes. "This is my mail!" he yelled. "My friends sent me these valentines."

"Oh, I didn't know they were yours," the big said quietly.

"Can't you read?" Pippi asked angrily.

The big looked down at his feet. "No, I never learned to read" he said. Sadly the big looked at his pretty walls. "Are you going to take them back?" he asked.

Pippi started to say, "Yes!" But the big looked so sad, Pippi didn't say it. Then he looked at the walls. The valentines did look very pretty in the big house.

"Well, I guess you can keep them," he said.

Pippi looked at the other bare walls. Then he said, "And as soon as I look at these, you can have them, too. If you want them."

"Thank you," said the big.

"But don't ever take my mail again," Pippi said.

"Oh, I won't," he replied.

Pippi smiled for the first time since Valentine's Day. He had a feeling that his friends wouldn't be calling him grouchy any more.

"I want you to come to my wedding," the big told him, "and bring your friends."

On Saturday, Pippi, Tommy, Annika, and his friends went to the big wedding. Inspector Belen was there, too.

After the wedding, the elves went to see the big house. "Just look at those beautiful walls," Pippi said proudly. "Those are the prettiest valentines I have ever seen."

And all the elves agreed.


End file.
